Courtesy / Town Hill Village Improvement Society
Route 102 in Town Hill becomes extremely busy during certain times, making it difficult to cross from public-use areas to shops across the road.
April 24, 2019
MDI village welcomes Acadia’s multitudes, but perilous street crossing stymies business
Residents of Town Hill are asking the Bar Harbor Town Council to install a crosswalk and pedestrian signal that would allow users on the public-space side of busy Route 102 to safely get to markets and eateries on the other side.
Town Hill is a small village that's part of the busy tourist town of Bar Harbor, but is located on its fringe. It’s an entry point to both the Bar Harbor side of the island, where the bulk of Acadia National Park is located, and to what’s locally known as the “quiet side” of the island. Route 102 runs through Town Hill to get to the quiet side; the village’s portion of Route 102 offers small service, commercial and retail businesses.
Town Hill also has a ballpark that’s popular for activities like Little League, as well as a playground frequented by local families and a parking lot hosts a summertime farmers market.
Those public-use spaces are all clustered on one side of Route 102, just beyond a bend where it’s difficult to see oncoming traffic. A grocery market, eateries, ice cream shop and other attractions are on the other side of Route 102.
Crossing the street to use the shops is perilous, residents told the council at a neighborhood meeting the council hosted on April 16.
One resident noted that traffic “is intense” weekday afternoons, when workers from Jackson Laboratory commute home, and generally during the summer when Acadia National Park visitors arrive.
“Families want to play little league, there’s lots of children at the playground,” she said. “The drinks, the pizza, the ice cream, the food, everything is across a highway that’s very dangerous for people to try to get back and forth.”
Residents asked for a crosswalk and pedestrian light, to ensure the safety of locals and visitors.
Brian and Mandie Schaper, owners of a Town Hill snow cone business called Brrrr! Harbor, said speed is also a factor.
“It’s crazy,” said Mandie Schaper. “People go by at 50 constantly.”
Town Hill resident Diane Vreeland noted the village has become increasingly active with the development of new businesses along Route 102.
In recent years, there’s been mini-boom in small-business activity taking place in Town Hill, with the arrival of businesses like Travelin' Lobster, Frost Farms, Island Star Takeaway, Bar Harbor Jam Co. and Bar Harbor Bait. They joined longstanding businesses like Town Hill Market, Atlantic Brewery and Hammond Lumber.
Chip Reeves, Bar Harbor’s director of public works, said there was a plan at one time to install a crosswalk, but it didn’t move forward. The request must be approved by the Maine Department of Transportation, and would need undergo certain vetting processes for factors like utility location and right-of-way. The process could take a year, he said.
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